Letter to the Editor: Longoria wrong choice for Knox

Dear Editor:

Eva Longoria is to my Alma Mater (Class of 1957) what hamburger is to filet mignonette.

Your Prairie Fire has burned out. The school that once hosted a great debate over slavery between Lincoln and Douglas now hosts a Desperate Housewife. Billed as a philanthropist, I wonder how much she is paying to purchase this gig.

Her bachelor of science degree from Texas A&M at Kingsville no doubt is worth more than a Knox degree.

Your press release says Knox is excited about this. How can a cadaver of a college be excited about anything?

7 Comments

In searching the archives I can’t help but notice, Bill, that you did not take the same time and care to express similar concerns to the Knox Community regarding their choice of commencement speaker back in 2013, Ed Helms.

So, Bill, while I do share in your concern that Knox is a “cadaver of a college” my concern stems from the fact that they refuse to cut ties with misogynistic and racist alumni, students, and faculty- certainly not because they choose to host a broad range of commencement speakers.

“[Eva Longoria] is the national spokesperson for Padres Contra el Cancer, a nonprofit organization that helps Latino children with cancer and their families, and she founded Eva’s Heroes, an organization that offers enrichment opportunities for developmentally challenged young people.”

Mr Shaffer, I find your dismissal of this successful and thoughtful woman somewhat distasteful, pejorative and frankly immature. She has pursued an advanced degree in cultural studies as a celebrity; who else does that? May I ask about your philanthropic history?
—Mary Stoffel, MD
Knox ’82

Can you say the same thing but in a more positive mode?
Seriously, just being nasty and having a negative attitude should have been something you grew out of your first year after college.
Just because someone acts, doesn’t mean they don’t do other things, just as someone who works in a store or a cubicle, or even a journalist, often does other things. Perhaps the acting is how she funds her philanthropy. Being a Philanthropist is not a paying gig.

I guess in the 1950s Knox wasn’t teaching students to inform themselves before starting a debate.

Mr. Shaffer, if you have access to a computer, please copy the below into the address line and see where it takes you. After you do some research, we can debate the merits of Ms. Longoria’s charitable and activist work.

What exactly is this guy’s problem with her? He’s listed no criteria except that she’s on a TV show (was he this outraged when Ed Helms spoke in 2013?) and that she’s a philanthropist(???). And then that bizarre crack about Texas A&M… this letter reeks of elitism, misogyny, and possibly racism. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when a graduate of “Old Siwash”-era Knox gets upset that a Latina woman has been selected to speak at commencement.